The present invention relates to a camshaft for an internal combustion engine which serves for the actuation of valves and is arranged in bearings of housings of the internal combustion engine formed by a cylinder head and a camshaft bearing housing.
A known camshaft (French Pat. No. 15 11 082) is arranged in bearings which are represented by housings of an internal combustion engine assembled in a plane and constructed as cylinder head and camshaft bearing housing. The camshaft bearing housing which has the form of a hood, is retained at the cylinder head by means of bolts. If the camshaft bearing housing is detached, then several push rods of valves which are under spring force, displace the camshaft into a position disposed outside of the assembly position.
It is the object of the present invention to undertake such measures on a camshaft that its assembly in bearings which are formed by a camshaft bearing housing and a cylinder head, is simple.
The underlying problems are solved according to the present invention in that the camshaft forms together with a housing a structural unit preassembled independently of the bearings, whereby the camshaft is connected with the housing by means of at least one holder or support member.
The principal advantages achievable with the present invention reside in that the holder retains the camshaft in a housing--cylinder head or camshaft bearing housing--in a preassembled position, as a result of which the connection of the housings forming the camshaft bearings is more simple because the camshaft is already in a position similar to the assembled position. It is also assured by the holder that during the detachment of a housing, for example, of the camshaft bearing housing, the camshaft remains in a position which can be readily handled.
If the internal combustion engine is equipped with parallel camshafts which actuate four valves per cylinder, then in addition to the facilitated assembly of the two housings--cylinder head and camshaft bearing housing--these camshafts can be preadjusted relative to one another by the holders. The holders are simple structural parts and can be secured without great expenditure at one of the two housings.